Joanie Schirm

Joanie Schirm

Joanie Schirm won the 2013 Global Ebook Award for Best Biography for her book: Adventurers Against Their Will. Potomac Books will publish the second book, her father’s epic WWII tale, My Dear Boy: A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation on March 1, 2019. Joanie is an award-winning writer, photographer, community activist, and retired Orlando, Florida businesswoman. The daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Oswald Holzer, she grew up on a sandy barrier island on the Space Coast of Florida, a place where extraordinary memories are made and pelicans soar. A sought after public speaker, she is internationally known for her highly successful leadership role in Orlando’s hosting of FIFA’s 1994 World Cup USA 1994. She is the proud parent of two adult children, Kelly and Derick, and lives in Orlando with her husband, Roger Neiswender. Her books can be purchased here.

  • Past Meets Future

    Past Meets Future

    So many cool things happen along my writing journey. At the moment I’m seeking educators (high school through college) to be advance of publication readers of MY DEAR BOY and provide a review to the publisher, Potomac Books. Since my father, after he retired from his Melbourne, FL medical practice set up the student health care…

  • A family tradition of saving the nation. Why truth matters and comes with a duty to speak out.

    A family tradition of saving the nation. Why truth matters and comes with a duty to speak out.

    As I continue to write a series of books about my Czech father’s adventures during WWII during his forced displacement by the Nazis, I marvel how world history ebbs and flows with the same uncomfortable flare-ups of hatred and discrimination. The unique WWII letter collection that my father hid away after the war, often provides…

  • La Poste – via a mysterious post card, past meets present

    La Poste – via a mysterious post card, past meets present

    As a storyteller, I know we never are the sole author of anything that happens to us. During my nearly decade old writing journey, I’ve experienced many moments that appear to spring unexpectedly from the universe.  Recently, one such jolt arrived at my home via U.S. mail. Stamped “La Poste” on a white envelope with…